Best Apps for Windows Phone, November 2011

RunPee

Perfectly time your run to the cinema’s bathroom.

We’ve all been there. You’re at the movies an empty super-mega-maxi coke and popcorn combo is sitting by your side and you’re fully engrossed in your filmâ¦ only there’s that nagging sensation down below that you’ve been ignoring for fear of missing something important. What do you do? Open up your RunPee app of course!

The app also available on Android and iOS will tell you when a non-critical scene is coming up so that you know when it’s OK to skip out for that crucial stop. There are even brief plot rundowns to fill you in on what you missed.

Simply select the movie you’re watching and start the timer when the movie starts. You can then see at-a-glance how long you have before you can pee.

It’s a user-generated service over at runpee.com (sort of like a wiki-pee-dia) so the movies usually appear in the app about a day after the US release. The movie information is careful to avoid spoilers and additionally provides reviews and trailers.

It also lets you in on the first five minutes of a movie (in case you’re running late) and whether or not there’s anything after the end credits.

13CABS

13Cabs is a cab-booking app for Melbournians. You can book a cab for a specific time see where your booked cab is (in real time) and even estimate the fare avoiding the heinous call queues. You can also whip out your phone and hail a cab rom your current location or have the app guide you to the nearest rank.

Previously booked locations are saved in your history so you can quickly retrieve them later and the app allows you to import your favourites from the 13CABS web site.

ilomilo

A very cute 3D puzzle game makes its way from the Xbox 360. The idea is to reunite ilo and milo in their boxy floating world. You can collect objects bonuses (little characters called safkas) swap between characters and change gravitational planes but you always need to meet up with your partner.

The controls are simple the graphics adorable and the gameplay challenging. The learning curve is also rather smooth though things get difficult from chapter three.

Penguin

Based on the popular iOS game Tiny Wings Penguin lacks the graphics but is no less fun on the gameplay front.

You are a flightless penguin navigating across a hilly landscape by sliding on your belly. Gain speed to get air and time your launches and landings to maintain as much speed as possible. Your air meter depletes while you’re on the ground and when it’s empty it’s game over. The music is cute and the load and resume times are some of the shortest I’ve seen.